TMT in Mexico

‘A very reliable practice with a lot of experience in the field’, and a true force to be reckoned with when it comes to TMT matters, Bello, Gallardo, Bonequi y García, S.C. houses an expert, 12-strong practice group. Principal figure, Carlos Bello is ‘the best telecommunications lawyer in this country’, according to one client; he focuses on all areas of TMT, recently adding a focus on sports and entertainment law (including e-sports) to his curriculum. Other key practitioners include Hector Guzman, a renowned data protection expert; Rolando Guevara, who directs the sports and entertainment practice; and Carlos J Diaz Sobrino, appointed partner in 2021, who also coordinates the team's M&A expertise regarding the TMT sector and works together with Guzman in the data protection and privacy segment. Additional expertise comes from the head of IP, Jonathan Rangel, and senior associate Bernardo Martínez.

Demonstrating impressive capabilities on regulatory telecommunications matters, as well as on the transactional front, Hogan Lovells is a secure choice for the handling of media, technology and data privacy issues. Federico Hernández Arroyo, who has a direct and longstanding engagement with the telecommunications sector (including time as head of regulatory affairs at the -then- Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones), leads the department. He is closely supported by senior associate Ana Paula Rumualdo, who provides additional expertise regarding cyberlaw, legal AI, privacy and data protection. Recent matters include day-to-day regulatory advice regarding compliance with spectrum concessions and authorisations, telecoms regulatory advice, software licensing agreements, cloud and online-services matters, and the MVNO market.

Santamarina y Steta fields a ‘professional, responsive, and kind’ practice group -five-lawyers strong- is renowned for its dexterity handling transactional and regulatory TMT-related work, as well as its capability on compliance issues, administrative matters and representation. Corporate specialist Jorge León-Orantes, whose practice encompasses telecoms, broadcasting, IT, e-commerce, data protection and privacy, along with M&A, co-leads the department together with fellow senior partner César Cruz (in Monterrey), who covers all aspects of data privacy and protection mandates. Mexico City-based Paola Morales, who was promoted to counsel in January 2021, and senior associate Diego Rubén Acosta in Monterrey, provide key support with additional expertise on telecoms, IT, e-commerce, data protection and privacy, along with corporate, M&A and foreign investment knowledge.

Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez, S.C. is frequently deemed the best option when it comes to complex and high-profile transactions in the TMT sphere, or with significant TMT aspects, as well as for matters on the concomitant regulatory and administrative side, along with data protection, disputes and representation before the regulators. The firm houses an ‘excellent, client friendly and very efficient’ practice group comprising noted experts who -not infrequently- become ‘strategic partners in TMT’, including: Luis Gerardo García, who specialises in TMT, antitrust and competition; IP specialist Begoña Cancino; corporate/finance all-rounder, Jean Michel Enríquez; and counsel Jorge Kargl, who assists clients in the telecom, broadcasting, satellite, entertainment, automotive, e-commerce and OTT industries regarding Mexican TMT law, regulations and authorisations. Since publication, Kargl has been raised to the partnership – effective as of January 2022.

A longstanding presence in the TMT sector, DLA Piper Gallastegui y Lozano's small, but sturdy practice, is a recurring choice for a broad swathe of the media and entertainment clients, including IT, broadcasting, advertising, entertainment, censorship, and internet and online services. Praised for being ’at the forefront of technological matters’, the department, which is currently representing two major companies in satellite-related mandates, is led by partner Eduardo Gallastegui, who has a strong track-record handling corporate transactions; and Jorge Benejam, who specialises primarily on regulated-industry matters including antitrust, life sciences, telecoms, banking and foreign trade. Recent work highlights include due diligence in the TMT sector, business-plan design and implementation, spectrum allocation, M&As, financings and licensing. The department was further strengthened with the July-2021 arrival of Gabriel Contreras Saldívar, as counsel, from the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, the industry's regulatory body.

Earning plaudits from clients for their ‘extensive experience in the telecommunications sector’, González Calvillo, SC‘s TMT practice evidences great capability, offering comprehensive analysis regarding all related regulatory aspects; but also demonstrating a particular punch when it comes to representing clients in contentious administrative telecoms matters. The department includes a group of solid expert partners and is led by Luis Mancera, who focuses on telecoms along with constitutional, administrative and regulatory matters; and specializes in administrative litigation, constitutional relief proceedings, telecoms disputes and contentious constitutional procedures. Other key figures include the firm’s co-managing partner, Jorge Mondragón; while key support is provided by counsel Juan Carlos Peraza, a former regulatory head at Televisa who also handles administrative and constitutional litigation, along with telecoms regulations; fellow counsel Lucía Fernández (data protection, IT and corporate); and specialist associate Rafael Fuentes (regulatory consultancy and constitutional and administrative litigation, particularly regarding TMT and fintech matters). Since publication, Fuentes has been raised to counsel - effective as of January 2022.

The four-strong practice at Holland & Knight offers comprehensive advice in all areas of TMT, and is particularly skilled on the financial and regulatory aspects of telecommunications projects, as well as cross-border transactions, restructuring processes, and mergers and acquisitions in the telecoms sector. Managing partner Luis Rubio Bartneche, and partner Octavio Lecona (who can draw on the expertise accrued as an in-house at Telefonica and as a former official at the Mexican telecommunications regulator), co-head the practice, which recently advised Telefonica on a long-term, wholesale deal struck with AT&T in Mexico, which will allow Telefonica to use AT&T’s wireless radio access network (RAN).

Powerhouse TMT boutique Ruíz Moreno y Asociados houses a six-strong practice which represents and advises clients on a wide array of matters ranging from licensing, spectrum access and interconnection projects to the deployment or acquisition of fibre optics networks and disputes, among other matters. Garnering praise for its ‘extensive experience in the sector’, as well as for its dexterity handling ‘telecommunications and broadcasting issues’, the department is led by partner Iván Ruiz, a former chairman and current board member of Mexico’s Telecommunications Law Institute as well as current secretary of the board of several TMT companies; he has extensive experience in regulated industries, corporate and commercial law. The firm's strong second line includes senior associates Eli Manuel Ramírez (formerly part of the regulatory team at Nextel), Erika Estrever (a former regulatory counsel at Televisa), and Rubén Gutiérrez Díaz (corporate law, fintech, contracts and trade marks), are all noted.

White & Case S.C.‘s Mexican office boasts an ‘exceptional team in terms of efficiency, speed, depth, knowledge and excellent service’, which is particularly well-known for its litigation capabilities in the telecommunications sector. Said expertise comes primarily from partner Ismael Reyes Retana, a superb litigator with extensive telecoms experience, who garners praise for his dedication, loyalty and absolute interest in each project’. Experienced mid-level associate Yuriria Galicia Arizmendi is also noted.

Galicia Abogados S.C. offers ‘deep knowledge of the TMT industry from different angles: regulatory, transactional, competition, and litigation’ according to clients. The firm maintains a six-strong telecoms team as part of its wider regulatory practice group of 16 lawyers which, on the telecoms-side, handles day-to-day matters, transactional operations and administrative disputes; and on the technology front, undertakes regulatory, transactional competition, privacy, tax and IP-related matters, along with fintech. The ‘well-rounded and extremely talented’ Carlos Chávez, who has a strong focus on competition matters and public sector contracting, heads all the firm's telecom and media mandates. Additional partner expertise is provided by fintech specialist Arturo Perdomo and Humberto Pérez Rocha.

Greenberg Traurig, S.C. has notably seized on the momentum generated by the 2018 arrival of practice-head Edgar Olvera Jiménez, bolstering its TMT offering, which was already active in transactional matters, to increase its participation on regulatory mandates. Olvera, who garners praise from clients for always being ‘one step ahead of everyone else’, is a former Undersecretary of Communications for the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation. He leads an eight-strong practice group, which of late has handled infrastructure deployment projects, regulatory matters and permits before the IFT, negotiations to obtain contracts with the CFE, cable and satellite television-network regulatory analysis, advice on cable services, pay-per-view and/or OTT platforms, as well as regulatory and corporate advice to operate as Mobile Virtual Operators (MVOs) in Mexico. Fellow partners Miguel Yturbe and Luis Cortés both have a strong telecoms aspect to their practices, while Carmina Mogollón is firmly focused on global data protection and privacy issues.

Nader, Hayaux y Goebel, SC houses a robust seven-strong TMT practice, known for handling high-end, sophisticated transactions across the telecommunications and broadcasting segments (including satellite), as well as complex regulatory matters. The team continues to advise Satélites Mexicanos Eutelsat on capitalisation, licensing and regulatory matters, filings before the telecom authorities, and in relation to data privacy. Senior partner Michell Nader heads the practice together with Julian Garza, who has a focus on corporate, financial and regulatory matters in the sector. Additional partner expertise comes from Gunter Schwandt who has solid expertise in telecom and government procurement matters as part of his broader corporate / finance practice.